Two Hubbies On A Hill Kels dukes it out for a WIN

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1 Summer 2011 Volume II, Issue II The Penned Throttle S o u t h e r n E n d u r o R i d e r s A s s o c i a t i o n Two Hubbies On A Hill Kels dukes it out for a WIN On Saturday afternoon about 3 the Rad Dad Kid s Enduro got underway with the BPW and Pee Wee classes kicking things off. Their course was about 1/3 of a mile in length and they raced for 30 minutes. Connor Fair was the sole competitor in the BPW class. Zane Williams continued his winning ways at the Rad Dad to take the top spot on the podium followed by Shane McLaughlin, Fischer Harrison, Grayson Fair, Mason Daniels, Jess McClain and Nicholas Wilcoxson. The older kids classes crossed the road for their start at the bottom of the ever so famous hill beside the campground. This hill has been at the start of most harescrambles for the past few years. At the top of the hill were many pitters with cameras and videos awaiting the first rider to ascend to the top. While waiting, two riders husbands were chatting about what to do in the event their rider crashed during the climb. Gary Barr and Scott Harrison each stated that the picture would have to come first and then the aid to their respective rider, Debbie Barr and Dawn Harrison. I believe Gary was the one who affirmed that I must get the shot first. Unknowingly to any of us, the Barrs had a game plan. Adam was there to help his mom while Gary was there to get the pictures. Dawn was the first one up the hill in the Vet Girls class, as she is the points leader of the class. This being Debbie s first enduro had her scaling the hill last. She made it ALL THE WAY up to the crest of the hill and at that point did a vertical 360. Adam was there with others to help and she was on her way to compete in what was a very muddy and hilly 3.8 mile course. Her second time up the hill went very well and she completed her first enduro of many to come. Kels Duke has improved with every time she has competed this season and this was her second victory in a National Enduro this season. Carly Vogel finished 2nd followed by Harrison and Barr. Dayton Nicholas, Austin Anz, Tyler Sylvia, Josh Hilton, and Drake Smith made up the Int Boys class while Kellie Nicholas and Annie Jane Crump finished 1 and 2 in Int Girls. The Vet Boys were Spencer Johnson, Cameron Reed, Connor Woods and Evan Hamner finishing in that order. P.S. - Gary missed the shot. We Just Wanna Ride!!

2 Former SERA President Ed Larosche would be proud of the success of this great event. He will always be the original Rad Dad. Rad Dad - A Radical Mudder Annual Enduro Hosted by NATRA Bobbitt Blasts Final Test Section Wins by 59 Seconds Top 5 SERA Overall Cliff Ousley Steve Nicholas III Jeremy Ketchum Steve Nicholas II Carsten Cagle WestPoint TN, home to Round 4 of the AMA National Enduro Series is in the books. It was also the second ISDE qualifier of the year. You couldn't have asked for any better weather as Sunday morning rolled around. Temperatures started in the 50's and stayed in the comfort zone around 70 the rest of the day! I have always liked the trail at this race and have raced there several times and each time it seems like it gets better. There was a pretty serious storm late in the week leading up to the event that removed any dust on the course and left it a little greasy in spots. The trail itself was really fun and flowing. It had fun off-cambers, up and down hills, and some really awesome ruts. I had been doing a little bit of riding the week before in Alabama where the trail is very similar. My bike was setup great for this terrain and I think my 250 XC was the perfect bike for the day. The first section got the blood pumping with a ten mile section that was still fairly slick. I had a good ride through there and had the second fastest time to Cory Buttrick. The second section wouldn't go quite as well as I tangled with a lapper right before a downhill. We just mixed lines and ended up smashing into each other. He was actually a really nice guy and helped me get up and get back going very quickly and I was very appreciative of that! I felt out of a rhythm the rest of the section but still managed a good time. The third section was a quickie. 4.8 miles long and fairly fast. Everyone's times were super close on this test and I missed the win by a mere second. We then hit the gas stop for a little break and had section 4 that would take off right out of the pits. I had good times in that section and the fifth test. One of my favorite parts of the race was the end of the fifth test. There was a short piece of grass track kind of cutout that was like purpose built rut track. The dirt was amazing and you could charge super hard. I was told that I had the lead over Mullins going into the last test of the day. I knew that he had been right there all day and that I needed to put in a great ride to keep the lead. Cory Buttrick was feeling under the weather due to some bad food he ate and was hurting in the last section. I rode a super smooth ride and felt like I didn't hit a single tree in the last test. It was super tight and had some pine needles down on the ground still since it was an "A" only section. I caught Cory and he let me by and kept the hammer down. I greased the section and was pumped with my ride when I finished. Able to take a win and make a KTM podium sweep made an awesome weekend! This also secured me on the Trophy Team that will be heading to Finland in August for the ISDE! Russell Bobbitt L E T S R A C E BOBBITT OUSLEY

3 SERA Tidbits Bryan Petty will be competing in Finland in the ISDE this fall. All donations are greatly appreciated to help fund this trip. Bryan and Katie welcomed baby girl Allison Leigh Petty on May 18. Congratulations and welcome to the SERA family Allison. Allison has a big brother Will who just turned 3 on June 3. Lucas Ferguson graduated May 20 from Bruce High School in Bruce, MS. Lucas received many honors and awards including Student Council President, Elected to Bruce High School Hall of Fame, Honor Graduate, Friendliest Senior and Scholar Athlete. Lucas is the son of Sherry Ferguson - the Tee Shirt Lady. The Deer Run Buddy Race that was held the day before Easter had several SERA members compete with Adam Barr and David Stick Melton taking home Overall.. Ashley Traufler graduated from the University of South Alabama in Mobile with a BS in Nursing. Congratulations Paul and family.. Everyone remember Jason Brasington in your prayers. He has been diagnosed with Myelofibrosis and is need of a bone marrow transplant. He and Tracy went to the Kirkland Clinic on May 25 for information about upcoming treatments. To all who were affected by the horrific tornado rampage that took place on April 27 - our prayers and thoughts are with you. Many SERA family members lost loved ones and friends during this time. Homes and jobs were lost as well. Let us not forget to pray. As I work on this issue, we now have had more tornadoes in the country that have devastated Joplin, MO and other parts of the Midwest. And let s not forget the flooding that hit people in neighboring states as well, especially Louisiana and Arkansas. Let s do all we can do to help out our neighboring states and continue to support the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Wesley Burks graduated from USM with a Bachelors in Nursing. He has not decided where he wants to work and all options are open. Congratulations Burks family. For those of you who did not know, Wesley s dad Ron holds the SERA membership #1. Eric Bowen can now receive care packages as well as cards and letters at his new address : (AB Bowen, Eric L. ) ( PSC7) (1080 Apollo Drive Unit ) ( Lackland AFB, TX ) Each set of parentheses is a separate line of the address. Dwight Rudder sustained a broken hand during the LTR enduro. Pray for a speedy recovery for Dwight and patience for Debbie. Jesse Howard and wife welcomed a new baby boy into the world on Wednesday, May 18. This makes baby number 7 for the family. The Alabama Team Harescrambles had a buddy race at the Ridge on Saturday May 21 and Damon Hallmark and Jeff Cowan overalled the rough and rugged event. Congrats to the two of them - Ironic that both of them had their wives there holding their infant babies. Sweet. Anyone recognize these newlyweds? And YES, they are still married. We think so anyway. SERA 2011 Banquet July 23, 2011 The banquet will be held in Hattiesburg, Ms at the Hattiesburg Lake Terrace Convention Center. Keep an eye on the website for more information.

4 Random Rad Shots Barr s Vertical 360 Devin Stokley rode hard to finish atop the SERA 200B class just ahead of Neal Ousley in the highly competitive class. BRAAAAP Randy and Ran Crump - Father and Son. Annie Jane raced on Saturday in the Int Girls Division. Favorite Quote of the Weekend It wasn t muddy enough. Austin Anz Int Kids Class Look Out Guys!! Sheeeeeeze Back!! Suzy Barr Moody is back on a dirt bike and a welcomed sight she is. Finished a close second to Mandi Mastin. Cory Buttrick had the fastest times at times but fell off due to a bad case of food poisoning towards the end of the race. Held on for the final podium spot on the National Level. Carsten Cagle riding with a healing broken collar bone had an excellent start and dropped off a little in the last section but still managed a top 5 overall finish in SERA. Did Lil Steve have to holler to get by or did Daddy Steve move over on his own? Congratulations Nicholas Family on a very successful Rad Dad Weekend. Dayton, Kellie, Steve II, and Steve III.

5 Her children shall rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her: Proverbs 31:28 Mothers Day in the Dirt Pit Happy Mothers Day Sometimes ours just ask us if we have their camel back ready and what do we have for them to eat? When it comes to racing in the SERA family - we often claim those who aren t ours by birth but ours by choice...we all love our guys and gals in the sport and wish them all the very best in life. No dresses or roses for our Mother s Day Celebration just a little fun in the dirt and watching the guys compete.. With the absence of any BPW or PW class contenders the front row consisted of the INT Boys. Randy Parke informed them that there were a bunch of females behind them and if any one of them got caught by a girl - he would have to kiss her. That must have set in well because the guys were on the gas - must have been for fear of having to pucker up to a girl...eeewww. Evan Chisolm screamed thru the sand to take the win over Bryce Weaver, Connor Barrett, Kayne Hinton and Austin Anz. Hinton and Anz both suffered crashes that took them out of contention. Carly Vogel was out front early and never looked back as she won the Vet girls division. Mckenzie Brunson finished second followed by Jessica Terry and Kels Duke. Duke finished the race without brakes and she also had the oddest crash of the day with her body actually landing in one of the tires in the pit maze. Kerigan Brunson aced the sand to win the Int girls class followed by Kellie Nicholas and Ellen Herrington. The sole Vet boys contender was a newcomer and had never competed before. Welcome to the fun.

6 We All Knew it was Coming Soon Steve Nicholas III Takes Everyone to School in the Dirt Pit The Ridgerunners guys graciously postponed their season finale harescramble for one week due to the horrific tornadoes that ripped thru Mississippi and Alabama before heading to the northeast portion of the country. So many SERA members were affected by these storms and our continued prayers are with each of them. With it being the final race of the season, several classes had already been determined and some guys advanced to the next level to prepare for the upcoming season which starts in September. Dalton Little and Spencer Cook manned the front row and had a very interesting start. Little grabbed the holeshot and was working his way thru the maze in the dirt pit when he misread a turn and did the honorable thing to let Cook go on ahead of him instead of trying to get the edge. David Melton grabbed the holeshot in Open A followed by Adam Barr and Lil Steve Nicholas III. A very similar occurrence for them as well - Melton and Barr missed a turn allowing Nicholas to go into the woods in first. It would not have mattered if they hadn t oops up because Steve was a force to be reckoned with in the pit on Mothers Day. He scalded the woods on his KTM350 and left little doubt as to who would be a top contender for years to come. He s only 14. I remember quite well a couple years back Sherry Ferguson made the comment that she would give him 2 years and he would be in AA. She nailed it on the head. He s there. I don t recall anyone joining the elite front row this early in their racing career. Nicholas finished this race in 1:50:27 to overall it just ahead of Dustin Stevens and Dalton Little. Rounding out the top 5 were Adam Barr and Jacob Davis. This was Davis career best finish to date and he s a youngster as well at only 16. The scoring for the event was done the old fashioned way with a stop watch, ink pens, paper and 6 people working...all in all it worked out quite well. Karen Walters was recording them as soon as the backup folks were writing them down and trophies were handed out quite promptly and everyone headed home early. BARR-4TH OVERALL LITTLE - 3RD OVERALL RUSS HARPER SPIKE WEBB JACOB DAVIS - 5TH OVERALL NICHOLAS III-OVERALL 6TH THRU 10TH OVERALL NEAL OUSLEY - OVERALL B JOHNNY TAYLOR GARY HOWARD MICAH SEALE DAVID MELTON DUSTIN STEVENS - 2ND OVERALL

7 Steve Nicholas III Wesley Porter Cliff Ousley Stephen Reed Carsten Cagle Nicholas Nails LTR Enduro Steve Nicholas III Back to Back Inaugural Wins Leaves No Room For Doubt Top 10 Overall Kevin Hutchinson Steve Nicholas, Jr. Jeff Provencher Jason Reine Neal Ousley Just one week prior to this outstanding performance and overall win at the LTR enduro, Lil Steve won his first SERA harescramble in Meridian. Some folks said, well there just wasn t anyone there to really challenge him, with it being the last one of the season. He put that thought to rest with the overall win here in Louisiana with all the top guys in contention. Let s keep in mind folks- he s 14. STEVE NICHOLAS III - OVERALL The LTR Enduro was a great race this year minus the dust, which was out of everyone's control. It was a little shorter than most enduros at only 54 ground miles. It was made up of four test sections with no time keeping. The first section was 9 miles, and it was open and fairly fast. It was a great section to start the race with and was very fun. Unfortunately I got arm pump and did not ride as well as I wanted in that one. The 2nd section also had a good flow to it and was very fun, but a little longer at 13.5 miles. That brought us to the gas stop. The 3rd section was fairly technical and was 5 miles long. It had a good mixture of trails that made it fun and challenging. The 4th section of the race was, in my opinion,the best one. It was a little over 12 miles and it was alot of single track tight trail that you really had to push in to get a good score. It was a very fun enduro that had the hardest section at the end the way it should be. I had a lot of fun riding it. I am looking forward to it again next year. Johnathan Seales SEALES The Enduro season finale for the kids was held at Louisiana Trail Riders on Saturday May 14. The classes were very competitive coming down to the last race of the year to determine some division winners. Damian Petersen, Fischer Harrison, Austin Anz, Cameron Reed, Jessica Delee and Dawn Harrison each won their class for this event. Kels Duke missed out on a championship by 2 seconds. 2 seconds could be one missed turn or a missed gear on the trail. That is some good close competition and makes for a funfilled season. Congratulations to all competitors for a very successful season. See you at the banquet or in September at the first enduro for the 2012 season. D. H A R R I S O N 2011 SERA Enduro Kids Champions Vet Boys - Cameron Reed Int Boys - Dayton Nicholas Vet Girls - Dawn Harrison Int Girls - Jessica Delee Beginner Pee Wee - Damian Peterson Pee Wee - Zane Williams Cagle Cruises Thru the Mud to Season Finale Victory The season finale enduro was held in Arkansas and was a National event as well. Carsten Cagle had a solid ride to take the SERA overall followed by Steve Nicholas III and Steve Nicholas II. Cagle won with an 8+ minute margin. Stephen Reed finished the day in 4th overall. Wesley Porter had the fastest time thru 2 of the test sections but then got lost and dropped several valuable minutes costing him a possibility of overall. Neal Ousley finished Overall B SERA and was 4th Overall B Nationally only 1:16 minutes behind the leader. To the left are Reed and Ousley and to the right are my two favorite young men. Couldn t go a whole season and not show off my grandson at least once. He ll be pinning the throttle in a couple of years. Let s hope the kids can still ride when he gets old enough to participate. Thank you Carolyn Reed, Fred Pittman and others who have raised awareness to let congress know that Kids Just Wanna Ride!!!!

8 SERA 2840 CO RD 26 PLANTERSVILLE, AL LET S RACE BULLET PROOF I WAS WATCHING COPS THE OTHER DAY AND IT MADE ME THINK. I SAW BOTH MEN AND WOMEN OFFICERS WEARING BULLET PROOF VESTS. ANY JOB YOU HAVE TO WEAR A BULLET PROOF VEST FOR, WELL, LET S JUST SAY I THANK GOD FOR EM BUT I M GLAD IT S NOT ME. THEN IT HIT ME, I AM DOING THAT EVERY MORNING, SORT OF. IF YOU READ EPHESIANS CHAPTER 6 VERSE 11 HE TELLS US 11 PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL. THE APOSTLE PAUL TELLS US TO GIRD OUR WAIST WITH TRUTH, SHOD OUR FEET WITH PEACE, TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH, PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION, AND WIELD THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD. I GOTTA SAY, WHEN I DO THAT IN THE MORNING I CAN T HELP BUT FEEL SPIRITUALLY BULLET PROOF. AND THINK ABOUT THIS, THERE S NOTHING PRO- TECTING OUR BACK! CAUSE WE NEED TO FACE OUR ENEMY AND GOD HAS OUR BACK. JUST READ I SAIAH CHAPTER 52 VERSE FOR YOU SHALL NOT GO OUT WITH HASTE, NOR GO BY FLIGHT; FOR THE LORD WILL GO BEFORE YOU, AND THE GOD OF ISRAEL WILL BE YOUR REAR GUARD. I M GONNA DO MY BEST TO STAY SPIRITUALLY BULLET PROOF, HOW BOUT YOU? COME ON, ARMOR UP! P ASTOR DOTY SERA CHAPLAIN